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Need some help 98 6.5 electrical-need to hardwire my truck

Smokinthehippies

Smokinthehippies

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so my pos just left me stranded again. 98 k2500 with 6.5 & 5 speed.
Recently the ignition switch burnt out. I replaced it all is fine.
Now like two weeks later the exact same thing happened. Just dead at the key. My question is what can cause this? It seems odd to get the same problem this quick again. Any thoughts?
 
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Idk. Both times it presents an intermittent stalling issue while driving. Just cut all power for a few seconds and than just catch back on.
It did it before it died the first time, and just did it again this morning before crapping out. It's not fixing it that's the issue, I can get it fixed pretty quick now that I've been in there. Hell I could even tolerate doing it once a year. But I'm not doing it every two weeks at $100 a pop
 
skunked said:
what brand replacement did you use?
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Well how is that relevant!?

I'm just kidding. I used autozone as a quick repair. I'm hoping that that's the cause of my issue is just a cheap ass replacement. But I don't want to swap if there is something else I need to fix first
 
HA! :D

Does vatozone warranty the POS switch?

I had one go out years ago, replaced it with a AC Delco and never had another problem with it.
 
Yeah I just bought anotger one from Napa to get me back on the road. Gonna warranty the autozone one and keep it in the truck with the tools til I can get a delco one ordered
 
Got a new ignition switch in and it fired right up.

I don't know if there is any electrical stuff before the switch that could be causing it to short or if I just got lucky with a crap replacement.
Any ideas?
 
Smokinthehippies said:
Got a new ignition switch in and it fired right up.

I don't know if there is any electrical stuff before the switch that could be causing it to short or if I just got lucky with a crap replacement.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Frying the switch would most likely be a short downstream. A short upstream would simply cut power to the switch.

And you might have just had a typical Autozone part. :dunno:
 
campfire said:
Frying the switch would most likely be a short downstream. A short upstream would simply cut power to the switch.

And you might have just had a typical Autozone part. :dunno:
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That is my sincere hope. As I got rid of SS so now I need this truck to be reliable for a good bit.
 
Well quick update. New part just failed. At least it's at work. How can I wire this thing up to a switch in such a way to not have to replace the ignition switch?

Anyone have any diagrams that can help with bypassing that shit and wiring it to a toggle?
 
Smokinthehippies said:
Well quick update. New part just failed. At least it's at work. How can I wire this thing up to a switch in such a way to not have to replace the ignition switch?

Anyone have any diagrams that can help with bypassing that shit and wiring it to a toggle?
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You planning on re-wiring the ignition switch itself (under the dash)? Or scabbing new wiring in place of the ignition wires going to the IP?

Do you still have any of the old switches so you can test continuity? This is sounding like a failed wire or a loose plug issue. I can't believe you would go through several different switches and have all of them fail that quickly. Most of these trucks never wear out an ignition switch... :dunno:
 
Yeah. But I'm not familiar enough with them to know what needs to be tested. All I kno is putting a new one in fixes the problem.
 
Could a faulty glow plug relay overload the ignition switch?
Cuz thinking about it. The key works fine to cycle the glow plugs. It's always when I go to start the truck after the plugs cycle that it happens. Also when the truck does run, the glow plugs continue to cycle a few times when the truck is on. It's enough that it dips the volt gauge down a fair bit as it cycles on and off. I don't know what the correct operation is enough to know if it's a problem or not.
 
Smokinthehippies said:
Yeah. But I'm not familiar enough with them to know what needs to be tested. All I kno is putting a new one in fixes the problem.
Click to expand...

Is it the new switch that fixes the problem, or the fact that you are jiggling the wires that makes it work for a while? If you have a flaky harness you can install switches for the rest of your life and still have an unreliable rig. :dunno:
 
The switchEs come with the harness that goes down towards the fuse block. So it's a whole bundle of wires all the way down under the column.
 
Smokinthehippies said:
Could a faulty glow plug relay overload the ignition switch?
Cuz thinking about it. The key works fine to cycle the glow plugs. It's always when I go to start the truck after the plugs cycle that it happens. Also when the truck does run, the glow plugs continue to cycle a few times when the truck is on. It's enough that it dips the volt gauge down a fair bit as it cycles on and off. I don't know what the correct operation is enough to know if it's a problem or not.
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Possible? I guess so. But it seems like grasping at straws. Do you have the old switches available for testing?

As for the glow plugs, yes, they will dip your voltmeter quite a bit when they are cycling. And cycling a few times after startup is normal in the 6.2 & 6.5 trucks that I have driven. They are controlled by a thermostat, so they won't stop cycling until the engine gets warm enough. Shouldn't take very many seconds to reach that point, though.
 
Smokinthehippies said:
Could a faulty glow plug relay overload the ignition switch?
Cuz thinking about it. The key works fine to cycle the glow plugs. It's always when I go to start the truck after the plugs cycle that it happens.
Click to expand...

Lemme see if I got this right. Turning to "run" initially works flawlessly. Then you turn to "start" and something happens to make it not work (need more details about how this happens). Then, after that point, "run" no longer works/plugs don't cycle anymore. Is that right?
 
campfire said:
Possible? I guess so. But it seems like grasping at straws. Do you have the old switches available for testing?

As for the glow plugs, yes, they will dip your voltmeter quite a bit when they are cycling. And cycling a few times after startup is normal in the 6.2 & 6.5 trucks that I have driven. They are controlled by a thermostat, so they won't stop cycling until the engine gets warm enough. Shouldn't take very many seconds to reach that point, though.
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Ok than that sounds about right.

campfire said:
Lemme see if I got this right. Turning to "run" initially works flawlessly. Then you turn to "start" and something happens to make it not work (need more details about how this happens). Then, after that point, "run" no longer works/plugs don't cycle anymore. Is that right?
Click to expand...
Yes. That about sums it up. One it "pops" and goes dark moving the key to any position results in zero change. It's as though the key stops doing anything.
 
Smokinthehippies said:
Ok than that sounds about right.


Yes. That about sums it up. One it "pops" and goes dark moving the key to any position results in zero change. It's as though the key stops doing anything.
Click to expand...

So...do you have your old switches for testing?

It's sounding like a short in the "start" circuit is nuking the switch or its wiring harness if it works well until that point and then is fatally damaged. Measuring the connectivity of the old switches would be a good test.
 
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